Why August 23rd in the Chinese Lunar Calendar is Special

August 23 is a special day in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar, the Heat Stroke.

The Heat Stroke is a festival that reflects the change of temperature. The original meaning of the word "处" is "stop" or "stay". The Shuo Wen Jie Zi (《说文解字》) says: "處" means "to stop" and "to stay". The "first summer heat" indicates that the hot weather has come to an end and the summer heat has begun to subside. The "three summer" and "three volts" both represent hot weather, and the curves on the time and temperature axes are basically the same: the summer comes, the volts arrive; the volts disappear, the summer will end.

The twenty-four solar terms have "three summers", namely, the small summer, the great summer, and the summer, in the order of the first summer, the middle summer, and the last summer, respectively. "Three summer" also sandwiched between a "Autumn" festival, after the Autumn is the first summer, the heat is longer. The heat is long and favorable for crop growth and yield. Ancient people will be from the beginning of autumn to the autumn equinox before this period called "long summer".

Traditional customs of the summer festival

1, ancestor worship and welcome the fall

The folk customs around the summer festival are mostly related to ancestor worship and welcome the fall. Before and after the heat of the folk will celebrate the "half of the seventh month" folk activities, commonly known as the "half of the seventh month" or "in the Yuan Festival". July half is a folk festival in the early fall to celebrate the harvest, pay thanks to the earth, there are a number of crops ripe, it is customary to worship the ancestors, with new rice and other offerings, to the ancestors to report the success of the fall.

2, eat duck

"July half duck, August half taro", the ancients believed that the duck in the middle of the seventh month of the lunar calendar is the most fertile and nutritious. Summer this day, the old Beijing people will go to buy summer lily duck, and Jiangsu region, good duck dishes to serve a bowl to the neighbors, as the so-called "summer to send duck, no disease in each family.

3, put the river lamp

River lamp, usually on the base of the lamp or candle. Before and after the summer festival, there will be folk activities to celebrate the middle of the year, commonly known as "for the half of the seventh month" or "the middle of the year festival", in the water to release the river lanterns, and let them float, mourning the dead, praying for peace.

4, fishing festival

After the heat of summer is the period of fishery harvest, China's coastal areas often hold many forms of activities in this festival, to send fishermen out to sea, looking forward to a good harvest. At this time of year, the water temperature in the sea is still high, and fish still stay around the sea, and fish, shrimp and shellfish develop and mature. As a result, people can often enjoy a great variety of seafood from this time onwards.